A few weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity to tour an extensive part of the United Kingdom with my mom. We went around England, Wales, and Scotland, spending time in the biggest cities, tiny farm towns, mountains, and seaside stops. One afternoon, we pulled up at a drizzly and misty place called St. Ives in Cornwall, and soon the gray, poetic clouds soon turned into hours of torrential rain. What was my first thought? “My soaps! They’re gonna melt!” Continue Reading »

I’ll admit it: I’m totally, 100% completely in on this Kylie Cosmetics hype right now. For months, I have been covering Kylie Jenner‘s makeup company updates and all of the new product launches for my job, and one day I decided to order myself a highly buzzed-about Lip Kit to see what it was all about. That purchase lead me to happily entering my credit card info and buying two more packs, and now I’m here to share my totally honest experience with three shades. What I wasn’t expecting was that there would be three completely different things to say about each product I ordered. Continue Reading »

The most common questions I get asked as the Designated Fashion Friend in my peer circles have something to do with my work wardrobe. Over the years, I’ve worked at a whole variety of office jobs, including everything from desk jobs where you answer phones and greet guests to the kinds where you’re on your feet for hours, unpacking boxes, or dealing with clients. In the same span of time, I’m proud to say that I’ve finally cultivated a work wardrobe that’s up for any challenge thrown at it, and still shows off some of my personal fashion sense. Don’t worry: I’m not keeping tight-lipped about it. I love sharing tips and tricks with anyone who asks, and have decided to compile a more comprehensive guide for fashionable folks at every style level. Continue Reading »

No matter how busy I get, I always find time to read a few pages of a book each day. Sometimes I find myself nodding off to sleep while trying to squeeze in a few chapters late at night, and other times I’m wide awake as I get through a thrilling novel. Or then there are the days I try to forget about car sickness and make use of my bus time by skimming some passages. I’ve also started writing young adult book reviews at work, for one of our sister sites Miss Literati, just so I have an excuse to keep up with the latest releases and motivation to get through to the end. Allow me to share a few excerpts from reviews I’ve been doing lately: Continue Reading »

I hit a bit of a milestone today. Was it a big, life-changing moment in all of history? Well… no. But it marked a major moment in a personal hair journey that so few people have even known I was on. I want to tell an open and honest story, which seems a little silly to even me since it’s just about hair. Before you shrug off my experiences, hear me out for a spell: I promise I’m about to take you on an unexpected ride.

So, this morning, I was styling my hair into a festive Halloween look when I realized that you can no longer see the short, formerly-shaved side of my hair. It’s something my friends have been pointing out a lot recently, because they’re seeing it in pictures, but today was the first time I saw it for myself. Continue Reading »

You know the brands. There are just some fashion companies out there that are fabulous at promoting their stuff on social media. They share beautiful Instagram pics showcasing the products, and you find that you just can’t stop double tapping on your snaps. That’s how I first heard of Pura Vida Bracelets. Friends of friends shared #armparty pics and I found that the dainty woven friendship braids around their wrists actually had a huge story behind them – and I just had to get involved somehow. Continue Reading »